ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Opening East Coast Conference play in Rochester Sunday afternoon the Queens College women's volleyball team matched up against the Redhawks of Roberts Wesleyan University inside the Voller Athletic Center.
Finding themselves trailing in the match down 2-0 after the conclusion of the first two sets, the Knights would rally led by junior
Kendall Conrad (Carrolltown, PA) match-high 15 kills, senior
Christina Franco (Lynbrook, N.Y.) with 11 kills, while junior
Lindsay Osterhoudt (Orlando, FLA) and rookie
Jonaida Donowa (Porter, TX) combined for 20 kills as Queens earned a 3-2 reverse sweep comeback victory over the Redhawks
With the win, the Knights improved to 10-5 on the year and opened ECC play on a winning note. For the third straight season, Queens earned a five-set victory in Rochester continuing their love affair with a five-set match against Roberts Wesleyan.
MATCH RECAP vs. Roberts Wesleyan University (W, 3-2 | Set Scores: 21-25, 18-25, 25-12, 25-22, 15-7)
It would be a sluggish start to the match for Queens as they fell behind by seven points on two separate occasions, 10-3, and 13-6 before a kill from senior
Alicia Cervera (Valencia, Spain) started an 8-0 run for the Knights with Cervera recording three kills as Queens took a 14-13 lead.
But three Knights errors and two service aces from the Redhawks would see them take an 18-14 lead before pulling away with a 25-21 first set victory and taking a 1-0 match lead.
Led by the trio of Osterhoudt, Conrad, and Donowa Queens would open the second set with an early lead of 5-2 forcing a Roberts Wesleyan timeout. The Redhawks would use the timeout to their advantage as they went on an 8-2 run to take a 10-7 lead.
Redhawks errors would help Queens tie the second set at 11-11 before the home side went on a 7-1 run to take an 18-12 lead before going on to earn a 25-18 second set victory and taking a match lead of 2-0.
Needing to rally back and in danger of dropping their ECC opener, Queens fell behind 3-1 in the early going before a kill from Cervera started a 7-1 run for the Knights as they took an 8-4 lead.
The Redhawks would get within two, 9-7 before the senior Franco recorded back-to-back kills as the Knights went on a 5-2 run to take a 14-9 advantage.
Leading 15-9 in the third set, Franco's third kill of the set would see Queens go on a 9-1 run as Queens ran away with the third set to the final score of 25-12 with rookie
Olivia Hyman (Forest Hills, N.Y) finishing the set with a service ace as the Knights cut their deficit down to one, 2-1.
Taking their third set victory momentum the Knights jumped ahead 10-4 before the Redhawks attempted to rally as they were able to cut Queens' advantage down to three points on three separate occasions.
After a kill from Franco put Queens up 18-14, the Redhawks responded with back-to-back points as they were able to get within two points, 18-16. The Knights led by Franco and Conrad would start a 5-1 run as the duo recorded back-to-back kills before four different Knights made their presence felt at the net recording three straight bocks to take a commanding lead of 23-17 in the fourth set.
Five errors from the Knights would see Redhawks get back within two, 24-22 before Conrad notched her fifth kill of the set as Queens earned a 25-22 fourth set victory and tied the match at 2-2.
For the third straight season, the final outcome of the match in Rochester would require five sets as Queens continued their love affair inside the Voller Athletic Center. Sunday's five setter would be the third of the year for the Knights.
Osterhoudt opened the fifth set with her 10
th kill of the match before the Redhawks took a 3-1 lead. Determined to open their ECC campaign on a strong note Queens would use a Redhawks service error to their advantage as the Knights went on an 8-1 run as junior
Sarah Munn (Torrance, CA) and Hyman combined for three service aces, while the duo of Donowa and Conrad combined for two kills and block as the Knights took a 9-4 lead.
The Redhawks would cut the advantage down to 9-6 before Queens went on a final run of 6-1 run with five kills combined with a Donowa service ace for the fifth set victory to the final score of 15-7 as Queens completed the five-set comeback victory to earn their 10
th victory of the year and first ECC victory of the year.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Junior Conrad led the way recording her second double-double of the year with a season-high of 15 kills and 14 digs to go with two blocks and one service ace.
- Franco recorded her fifth double-double of the year with 11 kills on a hitting % of .313 and a season-high 18 digs.
- Osterhoudt recorded a season-high 10 kills on a hitting % of .320 to go with two blocks.
- Rookie Donowa recorded 10 kills to go with a career-best seven blocks and four service aces.
- Cervera recorded five kills, three digs, and a season-high three blocks in the victory.
- Rookie Hyman notched a career-best four service aces to go with three digs and one kill.
- Senior Despina Boudouris (Athens, Greece recorded a match-high 34 assists to go with six digs, one block, and one kill.
- Rookie Madi Hathaway (Edmond, OK) notched 11 assists, eight digs, three service aces, two kills and two blocks.
- Junior Munn recorded 17 digs, three assists, and two service aces, while rookie Sophie Schonauer (Bakersfield, CA) chipped in with eight digs and one kill in the victory.
NEXT MATCH
The Knights return to non-conference play as they travel to Pleasantville, N.Y. on Wednesday, Oct. 2 with a matchup against the Setters of Pace University. The first serve is set for 7:00 p.m.
For the latest news on Queens College Athletics, follow the Knights at queensknights.com or via social media on Facebook (Queens College Athletics), X (Formerly Twitter) (@QCKnights), and Instagram (qcknightsny), women's volleyball (qcknightsvb).
